Boot Camp Workouts

How to Use Metabolic Fat Loss Workout Finishers in Bootcamps

What are Metabolic Finishers?

Metabolic finishers are a great way to add a serious extra push and really spike the fat burning or muscle building potential in a given workout. Done properly, it is the icing on the cake so to speak.

Metabolic finishers involve the use of one or several exercises performed at the end of a workout with the purpose of finishing the muscles and creating a super pumped afterburn. If they are added to a muscle building specific workout, the intent is to completely fatigue the worked muscles in order to stimulate growth.

They can also be very effective when used as part of a fat burning program. Just when you think you can’t go any further or faster, you throw in a metabolic finisher circuit to squeeze every last drop of fat burning energy out of that body. This creates the perfect environment for fat loss while salvaging precious, hard earned muscle.

How can Finishers Excel the Fat Loss Process?

We all know and understand the ideology behind intense workouts. You get what you put in or reap what you sow if you will. Intense workouts, lead to extreme payoffs.

Finishers take those extreme workouts one step further. When your clients are just about to drop from the gruelling routine you’ve put them through, that’s the time to hit them with another little bonus round to really test their limits.

Metabolic finishers, when used as part of a fat burning workout, such as a bootcamp, can ensure that the right amount of intensity has been used in order to set up the necessary fat burning, muscle salvaging hormones. It’s the extra push we need to spike testosterone and growth hormone while training the metabolism to remain elevated and ready for action. The afterburn effects are set in motion, annihilating calories and fat deposits all day long.

The Benefits of Metabolic Finishers

Aside from the amazing results your clients will see in their physique by incorporating metabolic finishers in your bootcamps, they will also enjoy the psychological effects. Sure, some may moan and whine at first because let’s face it, the workout is already far more brutal than what most would put themselves through anyway, but never the less, they will love it.

There is something to be said for going as hard as you ever thought possible and then going just a little harder. Reaching further, testing self-imposed limits and crossing the psychological finish line faster, are guaranteed to boost self-esteem.

This style of training will also set you apart from the ordinary. So many bootcamps are lacklustre and repetitive, but with finishers you can design any circuit with any combination of exercises whether it’s sprints, shuttle runs, one leg burpees or bunny hops. With all the competition out there, you need something to differentiate yourself from the monotony.

Exercises to Choose for Your Metabolic Finishers

As mentioned earlier, metabolic finishers are so versatile you can literally use any exercise or combination you can dream of. Using as many full body, compound exercises, incorporating as many muscle groups as possible will burn the most amount of calories and add a significant amount of turbulence to the workout.

No equipment is necessary although it certainly can be an option as well. For bodyweight only finishers, try circuits involving full body and plyometric options like squat jumps, burpees, explosive push ups, bench jumps, crossover step ups, fireman’s carry and shuttle sprints. There are endless exercises and combinations of exercises that can be used.

If you’re working out at a track or wide open space, have your clients perform 50 or 100-yard sprints with short rest intervals. This works great at the beach as well. Throw in some upper body stuff like push ups, pull ups and inverted rows and that fat will be melting faster than ever before.

If equipment is available to you, exercises like snatches, kettlebell swings, cleans and push presses are perfect options. Try something like a one-arm snatch ladder to finish off a heart pounding workout.

Using a kettlebell or dumbbell of sufficient weight, have your clients perform one snatch, then switch to the other arm for one rep. Go back for 2 reps and continue on all the way up to 5, alternating sides each time. Once they reach 5, start them on the descent back down from 5 reps a side to 4 to 3 to 2 to 1. If performed properly, this will bring anyone to his or her knees.

No matter what you choose to add to your finishers, stick with full body or at least compound movements. Since the intent of this method is to up the ante and create an effective afterburn, you will want to use as many muscles as possible. Avoid things like biceps curls and tricep extensions. Obviously exercises like these will not create the extreme effect you’re looking for.

How to Use Metabolic Finishers

You can be as creative with the format and set up of your finishers as you are with the exercise selection. Circuits, supersets, complexes, ladders or even timing can be implemented well.

Circuits allow for numerous exercises to be added, ensuring the entire body is well worked over. Seemingly less intense exercises, when grouped into eight to ten and consecutively performed, have a dramatic effect on the metabolism and calorie burning potential.

Supersets are great for really focusing on something that may have been somewhat lacking in the workout or if specific muscles are the focus of a particular bootcamp.

Tougher exercises can be grouped together in groups of three or four as complexes, which will create a circuit/superset combination.

Ladders and timing of exercises will allow for added motivation, as clients will try to compete against others and themselves.

Add Finishers to your Bootcamp for Incredible Results

Give your clients the extra edge they’re craving in their training. Try out metabolic finishers and let them reap the rewards of their brutal efforts.

Bootcamp Exercise Routines

A bootcamp workout offers a fun, motivating and challenging environment. Feeding off of others is a great way to stay inspired through the workout and passes the time like nothing else. Testing your ability and progress against the other participants can turn even the least ambitious person into a fierce competitor.

Boot Camp Exercise Programs

Being creative with your design and implementation of bootcamp exercises will set your program ahead of the rest and keep your clients coming back for more while greatly increasing class size.

Bootcamp exercises are incredibly versatile and limitless. Not only are there hundreds of different exercises, there are almost as many modifications and variations of them. Workouts can incorporate strictly body weight exercises or include a variety of equipment such as bands, ropes, ladders, kettlebells and medicine balls.

Beach Boot Camp Workouts

Sand creates a lot of resistance. If you’ve ever tried to jog on the beach, you know how much more difficult it is than on pavement. There are often benches, logs and trees surrounding a public beach that can be great tools to use. Try a circuit of exercises consisting of bench step ups, decline or incline push ups on a log, pull ups from a tree branch, bench jumps, sand sprints, burpees in the sand, mountain climbers, planks, squat jumps, pistol squats, T push ups, glute bridges on the bench, spidermans in the sand, or anything else your imagination can come up with. You’ve just put your clients through a butt-kicking workout without so much as a single 5-pound dumbbell.

Boot Camp Exercises at the Park

Your local park or playground creates the perfect environment for a fun, effective workout. Not only do the monkey bars and swing sets make valuable equipment, the atmosphere is reminiscent of everyone’s childhood and can easily take the ‘work’ out of the workout for your clients. It’s amazing how even the most serious of adults are able to let go and have a good time when they find themselves back in a playground.

The combinations of exercises that can be incorporated into a workout at the playground are immense. Monkey bars are great for pull ups, chin ups and hanging leg raises. The swing set can act as substitute equipment for any of your favourite TRX exercises such as the pike up, leg curl or knee in. Use available ropes, ladders and poles for climbing. By setting up a circuit with enough exercises to accommodate all participants, you’ll create and easy, organized way of transitioning through the workout.

In addition to utilizing the actual playground itself, take advantage of the other existing surroundings. If there’s a flight of stairs, a hill, benches or a track in the same area you can break up your circuit with cardio drills like hill sprints or double time stair runs.

Bootcamps on the Track

Bootcamps at the track set your group up perfectly for high intensity interval sprints. Alternating a strength and cardio circuit with a 100 yard sprint thrown in will allow every participant to get the most out the workout while going at their own pace. The inside or grassy middle of the track also makes for a great place to incorporate sports type drills and agility exercises like the star drill, weave drill, side shuffle and the like. Or you can set up cones as markers on the track and have everyone do walking lunges to the cone and sprint back, or frog jumps to the cone and bunny hops back. Your imagination as a trainer is your greatest asset.

Most tracks offer stadium type seating, which is great tool as well. Use the bench type stairs for Bulgarian split squats, lateral step ups, bench jumps, decline push ups and dips.

Indoor Boot Camp Workouts

Depending on which part of the world you will be offering your bootcamp in; you will likely need an indoor option for at least part of the year. A little rain never hurt anyone, but nobody likes working out in hail, freezing temperatures or windstorms. Even if you are stuck in a big empty room with absolutely not a piece of equipment in sight you can still offer a challenging workout to anyone and everyone.

Bodyweight exercises like burpees, squat jumps, explosive split squats, mountain climbers, sprints, speed skater lunges and long jumps will test anyone’s muscular endurance and cardio capacity. Alternating these with push ups, one leg dips and glute bridges, core work like crunches, planks, T stab push ups and bicycles will strengthen and stabilize the muscles while improving balance and co ordination.

An indoor environment, if large enough, is another great place for adding drills or competition to your workout. Start a push up contest, relay races, long jump competition or drills like the ones you offer outside to increase the challenge.

Partners During Boot Camp

Pairing clients up into partners can be a lot of fun, although you’ll want to wait to get a good read on your particular group before trying this. Some people love it, but others find it intimidating and uncomfortable. If you do decide to add some partner exercises you can try mirroring exercises like lunges, squats and split squat jumps. Rows can be done with a partner’s bodyweight. A partner plank hand clap, medicine ball toss (if you choose to use equipment) and relay type drills work well also.

Using equipment

Any portable equipment you use in the gym can be added to your bootcamps if you decide to do so. Use bands for speed rows, close or wide grip pull downs, squats with a press, crossovers and more. Medicine balls are great for woodchops, overhead lunges, crunches and passes if you choose to work in partners. Kettlebells can be used for swings, Turkish get ups and snatches. Ten or twenty five-pound plates can be used for swings, woodchops or walking lunges. Skipping ropes are a great tool and very inexpensive.

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If you’re on a tight budget, five-gallon water jugs, large tires and chains are an inexpensive and effective way to go. The water jugs can be used for squats, deadlifts or a water jug carry from cone to cone. Tires can be jumped through in cardio drills or attached to chains and dragged, or as a tire flip exercise, depending on the size.

These are just a few examples of how you can use equipment in your programs but obviously there are many more options as well.

How to Use Metabolic Fat Loss Workout Finishers in Bootcamps

What are Metabolic Finishers?